Hoax SMS put Pune police in a spot

A hoax SMS circulating in the city put police in a spot as it "warned" people to keep away from crowded and busy areas following the Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts.

The message, which asked receivers on Sunday to forward it to as many people as possible, said "16 blasts in Ahmedabad. Don't go to central areas like FC road, MG Road, Appa Balwant Chowk and Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Mandir - warning issued by Pune police."

The Dagdusheth Ganesh temple in the heart of the city always sees a large number of devotees.

Coming as it did in the wake of the Bangalore and Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts, anxious people, including school going children, kept forwarding the SMS the whole day, causing a scare in all parts of the city.

As many kept asking the police control room about the "warning", senior police officials realized the unwarranted panic it had created in the absence of any such official communication.

A police spokesman issued a statement, which was also aired on local radio stations last evening, describing the SMS as a hoax by miscreants and asking people not to pay heed to rumours.

Police said the authorities had taken necessary measures by stepping up vigil at sensitive spots in the city and there was no cause for panic.